TENS OF thousands of antigovernment protesters have descended on Bangkok for six days of protests designed to force the Thai government to resign and call elections.
Despite predictions of violence, the more than 100,000 “red shirts” who gathered in the centre of the capital yesterday to challenge the government created more of a carnival atmosphere than an intimidating presence.
“We can’t stand the injustices and double standards any more, so we’ve come out for change,” said Nualjan Saiyakij, a self-employed businesswoman in a red shirt and red hat.
The government deployed 50,000 security officers around Bangkok ahead of the demonstration, which organisers have billed as the “million-man march”.
Thai politics has been largely paralysed since 2006 when the army ousted Thaksin Shinawatra, a telecommunications billionaire, as prime minister. Some people on the extreme wings of both sides of the political divide see confrontation as the only road to political progress due to the failure, in their view, of democratic institutions.
The United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) is organising the event. If it fails to reach critical mass – which most analysts say means 200,000 to 300,000 people – the organisation risks becoming a spent force.
The scale of the political division is reflected in the contrasting estimates of yesterday’s crowd. Government spokesman Panitan Wattanyagorn said there were 50,000 demonstrators; Sean Boonpracong, the UDD spokesman, estimated 350,000. An accurate independent estimate was not available, but the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.
There was little sign of tension yesterday. Loudspeaker vans played patriotic music as crowds walked past stands selling red shirts and food from the north-east, the heartland of the antigovernment movement. Protesters have been streaming into Bangkok by bus and truck for days.
When the red shirts staged their last large demonstration last year, 120 people were injured in clashes that ended with troops firing live ammunition on the streets.
Thai prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is monitoring the situation from a temporary command centre on a military base in northern Bangkok. Most demonstrators support Mr Thaksin and say the parliamentary vote that elevated Mr Abhisit to power was engineered by powerful unelected forces. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010)